eBay is an e-commerce platform, at first only providing customer-to-customer auction services, expanding into business-to-consumer shortly afterwards. In the 2000’s, eBay went on a spending spree that saw it taking ownership of PayPal, Skype and Stubhub, although it has since relinquished ownership of all three businesses.
It is one of the few success stories of the dot-com bubble, which eBay fought through after going public in September 1998. By 2001, it was considered the world’s largest e-commerce website, and a year later it purchased payment service PayPal for $1.5 billion.
In the early 2000s, purchasing items over the web from random strangers was not common. Before eBay and PayPal, scams were frequent and there wasn’t much in the way of assurances that the item would arrive and if it did, that it would match the description provided.
eBay and PayPal provided the necessary arbitration and fraud prevention systems. In eBay’s case, the review system for sellers and buyers prevented enabled both sides to feel secure in their transaction, while PayPal prevented fraud.
PayPal was the first in what would be a great expansion of eBay’s footprint. In the next five years, it spent $1.7 billion on acquisitions for classified advertising platforms, $2.6 billion for Skype and $310 for Stubhub.
This conglomeration of digital assets made eBay a larger company, but by 2010, several investors and division leaders saw eBay’s ownership of Skype, PayPal and other services as detrimental to both parties.
Add to that Amazon had taken eBay’s title as largest e-commerce platform away and was generating three times as much revenue by 2010, and eBay’s spending spree had lost its luster.
eBay would sell Skype to a private equity group, which would then sell it to Microsoft in 2011. In 2014, eBay announced it would spin-out PayPal, which had become larger than eBay. At the time of writing, PayPal is valued at over five times eBay in market cap.
Since the PayPal split, eBay has been focused on growing advertising revenue and maintaining its base of customers, which are primarily based in the US and UK.
We have collected data and statistics on eBay. Read on below to find out more. Need more insights? Check out our retail app report.
eBay Key Statistics
- eBay generated $10.1 billion revenue in 2023, a 4.1% increase on the previous year
- Gross merchandising volume on eBay was $73.2 billion, flat on 2022 figures
- 132 million people are active on eBay, most are based in the US
- Over 18 million sellers have accounts on eBay
Retail App Report 2024
Want to learn more about the retail app industry? In our Retail App report, we cover financials, market share, usage, downloads and demographics, with regional and country level breakdowns.
eBay Overview
| Title | Title 2 |
|---|---|
| Launch date | September 1995 |
| HQ | San Jose, California |
| People | Jamie Iannone (president, CEO), Thomas J Tierney (chairman), Pierre Omidyar (founder) |
| Business type | Public (NASDAQ: EBAY) |
| Industry | E-commerce |
eBay Revenue
eBay made $10.1 billion revenue in 2023, a increase of 4.1% on 2022 figures.
eBay revenue 2005 to 2024 ($mm)
eBay revenue 2005 to 2023 ($bn)
| Year | Revenue ($bn) |
|---|---|
| 2005 | 4.5 |
| 2006 | 5.9 |
| 2007 | 7.6 |
| 2008 | 8.5 |
| 2009 | 8.7 |
| 2010 | 9.1 |
| 2011 | 11.6 |
| 2012 | 14 |
| 2013 | 16 |
| 2014 | 12.8 |
| 2015 | 8.5 |
| 2016 | 9.2 |
| 2017 | 9.9 |
| 2018 | 10.7 |
| 2019 | 9.7 |
| 2020 | 10.2 |
| 2021 | 10.8 |
| 2022 | 9.7 |
| 2023 | 10.1 |
Sources: Retail App Report, Company data
eBay Profit
eBay swung back into profitability in 2023 with $2.7 billion net income.
eBay net income 2005 to 2023 ($bn)
| Year | Net income/loss ($bn) |
|---|---|
| 2005 | 1 |
| 2006 | 1.1 |
| 2007 | 0.3 |
| 2008 | 1.7 |
| 2009 | 2.3 |
| 2010 | 1.8 |
| 2011 | 3.2 |
| 2012 | 2.6 |
| 2013 | 2.8 |
| 2014 | 0.04 |
| 2015 | 1.7 |
| 2016 | 7.2 |
| 2017 | -1 |
| 2018 | 2.5 |
| 2019 | 1.7 |
| 2020 | 5.6 |
| 2021 | 13.6 |
| 2022 | -1.2 |
| 2023 | 2.7 |
Sources: Retail App Report, Company data
eBay GMV
eBay had $73.2 billion gross merchandise volume in 2023, a 0.9% decrease on the previous year.
eBay gross merchandise volume 2007 to 2023 ($bn)
| Year | Gross merchandising volume ($bn) |
|---|---|
| 2007 | 46.5 |
| 2008 | 48 |
| 2009 | 48.3 |
| 2010 | 53.5 |
| 2011 | 60.3 |
| 2012 | 67.7 |
| 2013 | 76.4 |
| 2014 | 82.5 |
| 2015 | 81.3 |
| 2016 | 83.4 |
| 2017 | 88.4 |
| 2018 | 89.8 |
| 2019 | 85.5 |
| 2020 | 100 |
| 2021 | 87.4 |
| 2022 | 73.9 |
| 2023 | 73.2 |
Note: eBay redefined its GMV reporting in 2021. Source: Company data
eBay Users
eBay had 132 million active users in 2023, a 4.3% decrease on the same date in 2022. Active users have been in decline since 2018.
eBay users 2010 to 2024 (mm)
eBay users 2010 to 2023 (mm)
| Year | Users (mm) |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 92 |
| 2011 | 97 |
| 2012 | 105 |
| 2013 | 131 |
| 2014 | 149 |
| 2015 | 157 |
| 2016 | 158 |
| 2017 | 167 |
| 2018 | 175 |
| 2019 | 173 |
| 2020 | 161 |
| 2021 | 159 |
| 2022 | 138 |
| 2023 | 132 |
Source: Company data
eBay Sellers
eBay had 18 million active sellers on the platform in 2022, a slight decrease on the year prior.
eBay active sellers 2007 to 2023 (mm)
| Year | Sellers (mm) |
|---|---|
| 2007 | 1.3 |
| 2008 | 1.8 |
| 2009 | 2.1 |
| 2010 | 3.3 |
| 2011 | 6.8 |
| 2012 | 13 |
| 2013 | 18.4 |
| 2014 | 25 |
| 2015 | 24.8 |
| 2016 | 24.1 |
| 2017 | 22.9 |
| 2018 | 22.3 |
| 2019 | 21.1 |
| 2020 | 20 |
| 2021 | 19 |
| 2022 | 18.3 |
| 2023 | 18.1 |
Sources: Company data, eBay forums
eBay Sellers by Country
The majority of eBay sellers come from two countries: the United States and United Kingdom.
eBay active sellers by country 2023 (%)
| Country | Sellers (%) |
|---|---|
| United States | 31 |
| United Kingdom | 29 |
| Germany | 15 |
| China | 12 |
| Australia | 4 |
| Italy | 2 |
Source: Company data
eBay Downloads
eBay had a noticeable increase in downloads in 2020, but the past three years have seen it decline below its pre-pandemic figures.
eBay downloads 2017 to 2023 (mm)
| Year | Downloads (mm) |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 38 |
| 2018 | 37.8 |
| 2019 | 36.2 |
| 2020 | 40.3 |
| 2021 | 31.4 |
| 2022 | 30.5 |
| 2023 | 28.2 |
Source: Appfigures
eBay vs Competitors: Market Share
eBay is one of the ten largest ecommerce platforms in the US, but is far behind the leader Amazon.
Ecommerce market share in United States 2023 (%)
Want to learn more? Check out our Retail App Report
eBay FAQ
How many items are shipped for free on eBay?
eBay said in 2019 that 71% of items are shipped for free. It incentives sellers to post for free on the app, claiming it attracts buyers and boosts the items visibility
What percentage of items are sold new?
80% of items on eBay are sold as new. The percentage of new items has increased over the years, as eBay switched from auctions to a more holistic marketplace
What percentage of items sell?
About 40% of items manage to sell on eBay, with used items selling at a higher rate than new
What percentage of eBay sales are on mobile?
61% of eBay’s total sales are made through a mobile device
How many eBay sellers are based in the US?
Seven million of eBay’s 25 million sellers are based in the US, or about 28%
Is eBay available in China?
No, eBay is not available, however 12% of eBay sellers are based in Mainland China
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